Course Syllabus
307T Syllabus
Course Information
Instructor: Virginia Tucker
Office: BAL5034
Email: vmtucker@odu.edu
Course Description
This course introduces students to issues of writing in various digital environments like web pages, email, blogs, wikis, and discussion boards. It also introduces fundamentals of hypertext authoring, digital and visual rhetoric, and image manipulation.
Required Materials
Required Textbooks (provided to you digitally in Canvas):
- Net Smart by Rheingold
- Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Vol. 4, by Driscoll, Heise, Stewart & Vetter
Other Required Materials:
- Other readings as assigned
*You do not need to purchase any textbooks for this course. All materials are provided to you.
Course Learning Outcomes
- Understand that technology has changed writing practices and expanded them to include the composition of digital and multimodal texts.
- Engage in the analysis and production of digital writing and literacy tools.
- Understand your ethical responsibilities as a writer of and contributor to online content.
- Establish a web presence within an online community and learn the rhetorical strategies for being an active member of that community.
- Learn the modes, consequences, some of the responsibilities and dangers of different kinds of digital participation, from curation to blogging.
- Distinguish the characteristics and methods, advantages and pitfalls, of virtual communities, collective intelligence, crowdsourcing, social production, collaborative consumption and wiki collaboration
- Recognize the ways the structure and dynamics of networks affect the behaviors of populations, the elements of applying of social network analysis to online culture, the dynamics of social capital online, the steps necessary to cultivate personal learning networks.
(T)echnology Course Learning Objectives:
- Describe the use and development of a given technology within the context of a specified field.
- Describe the components, mechanisms, and function of a technological system.
- Analyze the potential impacts, both intended and unintended, of a given technology on individuals, society, or the environment.
- Interpret the cost and/or benefit of a given technology on individuals, society, or the environment.
Course Schedule
This schedule is tentative, and it may change during the semester when university schedules change.
|
Week |
Date |
Topics |
Assignments |
Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Week 1 |
6/26-7/1 |
Create your blog, write a discussion post & 2 replies to peers |
7/1 |
|
|
Week 2 |
7/1-7/8 |
Make discussion post & replies, write a blog entry, complete quiz |
7/8 |
|
|
Week 3 |
7/8-7/15 |
Make discussion post & replies, write a blog entry, complete quiz |
7/15 | |
|
Week 4 |
7/15-7/22 |
Make discussion post & replies, write a blog entry, complete quiz |
7/22 |
|
|
Week 5 |
7/22-7/29 |
Make discussion post & replies, write a blog entry. Infographic due |
7/29 |
|
|
Week 6 |
7/29-8/5 |
Make discussion post & replies, write final blog entry. Final exam and blog link due |
8/5 |
Grading Criteria
|
Your final grade will be calculated based on the following categories and weights: |
|
|---|---|
|
Assignment |
Percentage |
|
Discussion Participation |
20% |
|
Course Blog |
30% |
|
Quizzes (3) |
15% |
|
Infographic |
20% |
|
Final Exam |
15% |
|
Letter grades are based on the following percentage scale: |
|
|---|---|
|
Percentage |
Letter Grade |
|
94-100 = |
A |
|
90-93 = |
A- |
|
88-89 = |
B+ |
|
84-87 = |
B |
|
80-83 = |
B- |
|
78-79 = |
C+ |
|
74-77 = |
C |
|
70-73 = |
C- |
|
68-69 = |
D+ |
|
64-67 = |
D |
|
<64 = |
F |
Course Policies
Preparedness and Participation:
Your preparedness and participation will affect your grade in this class. Online courses require just as much, if not more, work as a face-to-face course. University classes require a specific number of contact hours, and those hours are met through your contact with coursework, classmates, and instructor. College credit workload expectations are defined by the US Department of Education in terms of the equivalent of in- and out-of-class work. One college credit requires the equivalent of one hour in class and at least 2-3 hours of out-of-class work for a 15-week course. Ours is a three-credit course, which would ordinarily require 3 hours in class and 6-9 hours of out-of-class work. With a six-week summer session, each week becomes 2.5 weeks, which means that the required time-on-task can seem like a lot: 22-30 hours. Online courses provide greater flexibility since they don’t require weekly on-site meetings, but you are still expected to meet deadlines and participate in asynchronous discussions. Readings in this class are substantial. Readings, class discussion, essay writing, and research integration are essential components of this and any writing class. You will receive an email at the start of each week (Saturday) with notes about that week’s learning module and assignments. It is recommended that you read it carefully and then access the class Canvas.
Essay Expectations:
Any essays submitted in this course should follow standard APA guidelines. Essays should be in a 12 pt. serif font with 1 inch margins, double spaced, include page numbers, and apply APA page formatting. All page requirements refer only to report proper (neither references nor title pages count toward page requirement). Papers should be submitted as PDF or DOC/DOCX files to Canvas. For your own protection, keep copies of submitted work. Papers are due by midnight on the due date, and late work or papers sent by email will not be accepted unless I have given you explicit permission to do so in advance. Submitting your work on time is a sign of your professionalism, and failure to meet deadlines can be a slippery slope. If circumstances prevent you from turning your paper in on time, please contact me in advance to make arrangements, but please do not email assignments to me until I’ve requested them. Late penalties will apply to any work submitted after the deadline, and those penalties will increase over time. I will not accept late assignments during the final week of classes.
Technology Expectations:
This is not only an online course but also a (T)echnology designation course. As a fully online course, it requires you to regularly engage with course discussions. We use Canvas, and the course schedule will help you keep on track with weekly expectations. The course is not self-paced; you will need to complete the course assignments week-by-week. Each week, you will need to visit the appropriate course module for a list of your reading assignments for the week. It is expected that you know how to use web browsers, search tools, and your computer’s operating system, and that you have reliable access to the internet. Canvas-related issues should be brought to ITS. This course is offered on-campus if you prefer to take it in a computer lab with an instructor present. If this is your first online class, then you should complete the readiness quiz located here: https://itsapps.odu.edu/tech_readiness/
Discussion Boards Participation:
Because our course is online, participation in discussion is a centerpiece of your course engagement. Discussion Boards will range from conversations and applications of course concepts to critical reading response and will be due every week unless otherwise stated in the class schedule. Your posts should provide thoughtful and substantive discussion of required readings--enough to indicate that you read the assigned reading. These are graded on depth, originality, use of course materials, and how well they elicit further discussion from peers. It is important that you refer to the readings in your responses. Vague responses will receive low scores as they indicate you did not read the assigned text. Discussion is an important facet of this course since online courses like this one rely on the written word and the social construction of knowledge to understand course concepts. To encourage discussion, you are required to reply to two of your peers each week (you may reply to any previous week). Replies should be substantive. Replies that just give a summative viewpoint of the post would not be substantive. If you’re unsure how to reply, use the “3CQ” format: Compliment, Comment, Connection (3C), and a Question (Q). You will be unable to make new posts to dated threads, so timely submission of your discussion posts is vital. In sum, you will be expected to post 1 reading response and 2 replies to peers each week unless otherwise stated in the schedule for a total of 3 discussion posts per week.
Course Blog:
You will create and maintain your blog throughout the semester that will summarize weekly readings and apply concepts learned in class regarding virtual community, ethical writing, and web design. Blogger will be used to host your blog. This is a term project and should demonstrate knowledge gained throughout the term. It is your responsibility to make sure the blog link is functional prior to submission. Blog links that cannot be accessed cannot be graded. Assignment details can be found in the Assignments section of Canvas. Any blogs that violate University policies will be referred to the Honor Council.
Plagiarism:
Old Dominion University is committed to students’ personal and academic success. In order to achieve this vision, students, faculty, and staff work together to create an environment that provides the best opportunity for academic inquiry and learning. All students must be honest and forthright in their academic studies. Your work in this course and classroom behavior must align with the expectations outlined in the Code of Student Conduct, which can be found at www.odu.edu/oscai. The following behaviors along with classroom disruptions violate this policy, corrupt the educational process, and will not be tolerated.
Cheating: Using unauthorized assistance, materials, study aids, or other information in any academic exercise.
Plagiarism: Using someone else’s language, ideas, or other original material without acknowledging its source in any academic exercise.
Fabrication: Inventing, altering or falsifying any data, citation or information in any academic exercise.
Facilitation: Helping another student commit, or attempt to commit, any Academic Integrity violation, or failure to report suspected Academic Integrity violations to a faculty member.
Academic dishonesty will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct & Academic Integrity and may result in sanctions up to and including expulsion from the University.
Writers who use the words or ideas of others are obligated to give credit through proper acknowledgment and documentation. Failure to give credit is plagiarism, a violation of the ODU Honor Code that can lead to expulsion from the University. If the quality of your in-class and out-of-class writing varies dramatically, I reserve the right to ask you to write under supervision. You are also not permitted to change your paper topic at the last minute, submit another’s work as your own, or submit work that you have previously submitted for evaluation in another class. References pages should follow strict APA guidelines in order to respect the author's original work. Finally, any source listed in the References page must actually be cited in the text of the document. Papers without references pages will be returned ungraded and may be referred to the Honor Council. Papers will be submitted through SafeAssign, which will compare your paper against its sources as well as other papers submitted through SafeAssign.
Course Disclaimer:
The course schedule and activities are subject to change. Changes will be posted as Announcements in Canvas.
University Policies
Standards of Classroom Behavior
The primary responsibility for managing the classroom environment rests with the faculty. Students who engage in any prohibited acts that result in disruption of a class may be directed by the faculty member to leave the class for the remainder of the class period. Longer separations from a class must be preceded by a conduct conference or hearing as outlined in Section V of the Code of Student Conduct.
A student dismissed from class may be required to meet with a Department Chair, Program Director, the faculty member or the Director of Student Conduct & Academic Integrity, or designee, before the student is permitted to return to the class from which the student was directed to leave.
Cultural Diversity
Old Dominion University fosters a campus community that values and supports the cultural identities of each of our members. The University also fosters an inclusive environment and provides programs that cultivate a climate of awareness, understanding, and respect of diverse individuals and groups. [Source: Adapted from The Office of Intercultural Relations]
Academic Integrity
The Office of Student Conduct & Academic Integrity (OSCAI) oversees the administration of the student conduct system, as outlined in the Code of Student Conduct. Through their interactions with students, they attempt to foster a climate of personal and academic integrity that facilitates the success of all University community members. For more information, please visit the Honor Council online at The Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity.
Honor Pledge
"I pledge to support the honor system of Old Dominion University. I will refrain from any form of academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism. I am aware that as a member of the academic community, it is my responsibility to turn in all suspected violators of the honor system. I will report to Honor Council hearings if summoned." By attending Old Dominion University, you have accepted the responsibility to abide by this code. This is an institutional policy approved by the Board of Visitors.
Educational Accessibility and Accommodations
Old Dominion University is committed to ensuring equal access to all qualified students with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Office of Educational Accessibility (OEA) is the campus office that works with students who have disabilities to provide and/or arrange reasonable accommodations.
If you experience a disability that will impact your ability to access any aspect of my class, please present me with an accommodation letter from OEA so that we can work together to ensure that appropriate accommodations are available to you.
If you feel that you will experience barriers to your ability to learn or take tests in my class but do not have an accommodation letter, please consider scheduling an appointment with OEA to determine if academic accommodations are necessary.
The Office of Educational Accessibility is located at 1021 Student Success Center, and the phone number is 757-683-4655. Additional information is available on the OEA website: The Office of Educational Accessibility.
University Email Policy
The Old Dominion University email system is the official electronic mail system for distributing course-related communications, policies, announcements, and other information. In addition, the University email user ID and password are necessary for authentication and access to numerous electronic resources (online courses, faculty webpages, etc.). For more information about student email, please visit Student Computing.
Withdrawal
A syllabus constitutes an agreement between the student and the course instructor about course requirements. Participation in this course indicates your acceptance of its teaching focus, requirements, and policies. Please review the syllabus and the course requirements as soon as possible. If you believe that the nature of this course does not meet your interests, needs or expectations, if you are not prepared for the amount of work involved – or if you anticipate that the class meetings, assignment deadlines or abiding by the course policies will constitute an unacceptable hardship for you – you should drop the class by the drop/add deadline, which is listed in the ODU Schedule of Classes. For more information, please visit the Office of the University Registrar.
Privacy of Student Information
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|